


500 Words You Should Know: #3 Adroit for Fire_Sign

by meaghann



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 13:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5250602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meaghann/pseuds/meaghann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phryne and a bump in the road</p>
            </blockquote>





	500 Words You Should Know: #3 Adroit for Fire_Sign

The sun was hot and the lonely little airfield held no hope of a cold drink or much of anything at all, as she had surmised when they flew in. There was a hut for whoever looked after this field, because someone had mowed the grass and there were wind socks and a flag flying. Phryne Fisher and her father had been forced to land early today when a small tear had pulled a long gash in the wing. They were off course and doing repairs would put them even further behind, she thought, as she examined the tear in her plane's wing. It slashed through the canvas on the top right side and was a nasty gash. Her tools were spread out on the wing, patch kit tucked neatly into the tool bag and the little pouch of needles and thread was securely fastened to the inside of the bag. She took a swig from her water bottle and swore. 

"What a place to be stuck. Beautiful, but a tad lonely." She tried to rub off more of the oil coating her face.

"They wouldn't think me much of a society girl if they could see me now!" But, she thought, her family would know this was just another part of her and suddenly she wanted Jack there with her, his competent hands passing her tools and offering help. She thought he would learn fast and enjoy himself flying with her. 

"Are you sleeping up there Phryne? We are trapped God knows where unless you can fix that death trap" said Henry Fisher from the ground. He was staring up at Phryne with an exasperated expression. 

"Father, unless I can do this slowly and carefully we won't be going anywhere. Why don't you see if the shed back there has water and fill up our canteens? And we aren’t God knows where, we’re in Northern India and this field is a perfectly fine spot to be stuck. Now please let me get on with this.” She heard harrumphing behind her, but ignored it to focus on the tear. Her father was right though, they were stuck in a remote area without much hope of help unless she fixed this herself. The only alternative was getting transport to a bigger community to find some help, but Phryne knew she could do this herself, she just hated the delay.

The tear in the wing wasn’t actually that bad, it was just going to take time for the dope to dry and it wasn’t going to hold for more than the end of the journey. She unpacked a patch and a large needle and thick thread and started stitching the fabric to the wing, trying her best to stretch it tight as she went. It was a long, hot job and she took breaks to jump down and sit under the wing in the shade to drink some water and mop her face with her scarf. Her father hadn’t returned for a while and she started to worry about what he was up to and that just made her annoyed. She was determined not to go chasing after him. He would appear eventually, probably drunk on the local swill, and irritable. She sighed and thought again of that marvellous moment with Jack at the airfield; such a kiss it had been and she wished once again to be home and in his arms. Never had she wanted anything as much as she wanted that to happen and she swore that as soon as her father was secure at the family home, she would rush back home as fast as possible. 

Eventually Henry Fisher came wandering back to help setup the tent and the blankets and they sat by the fire for tea and yesterday's stew. 

"Uh Phryne gal, I know you think I'm ignorant of how much work this is, but I'm not completely oblivious." Without another word he handed her a little wrapped bundle. A rather beautiful Indian silk scarf hid a delicate carved mahogany elephant. Phryne lifted it up and admired the detail. It was just the right size to hold and she smiled at her father, who frankly, looked a mite nervous. 

"Father it's beautiful thank you" and then she narrowed her eyes at him "How did you get the money for this? Did you liberate some of my funds for something else?"

"Now old girl don't be mad, I just needed a little fortifying for the next leg of the journey and the gent was very obliging." He waggled a flask at her and kept it out of reach. 

" I refuse to be mad about that, since you bought my elephant. Have a good rest, we're off early tomorrow" and she went to bed happy with life, missing Jack, but clutching her elephant, she dreamed of him.


End file.
